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New light on the old but very grand canal
By Nancy Zhang |
April 2, 2009, Thursday
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THE Grand Canal is the oldest and longest artificial river in China. Now every evening it is transformed by the design of lighting master, Roger Narboni, in Hangzhou, Nancy Zhang is illuminated
There's an ancient saying, "Hangzhou is heaven on Earth." Now with help from modern technology, a new saying goes, "When in Hangzhou, visit the West Lake by day and the Grand Canal by night."
One reason for a night visit is the 150-million-yuan (US$22 million) overhaul of the lighting along 10 kilometers of the Grand Canal - another of Hangzhou's cultural treasures.
Started in the 4th century BC, the Grand Canal is the oldest and longest artificial river in China. It stretches 1,794 kilometers from the Zhejiang provincial capital city to Beijing.
Now every evening 50,000 lights designed by famed French lighting master, Roger Narboni, transform the canal from 6pm to 10pm. Taking inspiration from the gentle beauty of the hills and rivers of southern China, Narboni has created a "symphony" of light in blue, green and red.
"The canal is a composition of tributaries, bridges and traditional and modern architecture. We organized the lighting to reflect these layers, like an orchestra," says Narboni.
Completed this February, the project was part of a local government's push to make the Grand Canal a world-class tourist attraction.
In its heyday, Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) scholars recorded that just to maintain the canal, 47,000 full-time laborers were required. Last year, the canal commanded a 4.5-billion-yuan budget, of which priority was given to cultural development.
Lighting is a key cultural component, and the UNESCO World Heritage status for the canal is currently being sought.
With such an impressive budget and ambitious aims, the clients originally specified that they wanted it "bright, beautiful, wealthy and showy."
Most Chinese people may still have vivid memories of an impoverished past when lights were turned on only during festivals. Color and brightness meant happiness. But as Chinese cities become increasingly well lit, that special sense of happiness has become harder and harder to create.
In a world of increased light pollution, Narboni convinced the clients to take the plunge with an understated design that made the most of the dark as well as the light.
With a team of 10 native Chinese designers from Zhongtai Lighting, the Chinese partner on the project, Narboni created a mist of natural-looking blue-and-green lights along the banks. This is in contrast to more extravagant lighting in parts of China such as Guilin in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The ancient architecture is highlighted with minimal white light showing its texture and sculptural details. The eaves are hung with red, Chinese lanterns creating a cozy, salon like ambience outdoors.
The 19 bridges along the 10-kilometer stretch were envisioned as markers to give rhythm to a journey along the canal. At every kilometer there is a post showing the distance to Beijing.
By day each bridge is a chaotic mix of different styles and materials, yet at night they make sense as part of a coherent whole.
Similarly by day the ancient architecture is overshadowed by apartment blocks rising behind them. But by night the modern architecture is only hinted at with a sparse scattering of rectangles set into the blocks.
Using high-efficiency LEDs, the lights also conserve energy using just 3,200 kilowatts an hour for the entire stretch.
Working as an electronic visual artist in the early 1980s, Narboni was ideally placed to lead a budding lighting design industry that started 20 years ago. He was founding member of the French Association for Conceptual Lighting in 1994, and founded the urban lighting design firm Concepto in 1988.
But as a lighting engineer, Narboni is surprisingly concerned with the dark.
"Light is like a drug - the eyes get used to it and want more and more," says Narboni.
He once won a contract to light the Rion Antirion Bridge in Athens, Greece, with a poem celebrating the "darkness of night." Having designed in more than 100 cities in Europe (notably Paris and Lyon), Narboni says surprisingly that "the 'lost night' is a nightmare for me."
As cities became active 24 hours a day, lighting designs became the supreme tool to define the brave new world of the night city.
Hangzhou's Grand Canal lighting project shows that the elusive beauty and wonder of light can be captured again, without sacrificing the night. If you go
Night tourist cruises are available on the Grand Canal for 60 yuan. You can get onboard at Wulinmen Pier, 138 Huancheng Rd N., Xiacheng District.
Bus No. 69, 270, 278, 328, 802, 813, K197, 279, K55, K56, K189, K105, K900, Y5.
Tel: 85153185
In future the lights will only operate on weekends and festivals.
There's an ancient saying, "Hangzhou is heaven on Earth." Now with help from modern technology, a new saying goes, "When in Hangzhou, visit the West Lake by day and the Grand Canal by night."
One reason for a night visit is the 150-million-yuan (US$22 million) overhaul of the lighting along 10 kilometers of the Grand Canal - another of Hangzhou's cultural treasures.
Started in the 4th century BC, the Grand Canal is the oldest and longest artificial river in China. It stretches 1,794 kilometers from the Zhejiang provincial capital city to Beijing.
Now every evening 50,000 lights designed by famed French lighting master, Roger Narboni, transform the canal from 6pm to 10pm. Taking inspiration from the gentle beauty of the hills and rivers of southern China, Narboni has created a "symphony" of light in blue, green and red.
"The canal is a composition of tributaries, bridges and traditional and modern architecture. We organized the lighting to reflect these layers, like an orchestra," says Narboni.
Completed this February, the project was part of a local government's push to make the Grand Canal a world-class tourist attraction.
In its heyday, Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) scholars recorded that just to maintain the canal, 47,000 full-time laborers were required. Last year, the canal commanded a 4.5-billion-yuan budget, of which priority was given to cultural development.
Lighting is a key cultural component, and the UNESCO World Heritage status for the canal is currently being sought.
With such an impressive budget and ambitious aims, the clients originally specified that they wanted it "bright, beautiful, wealthy and showy."
Most Chinese people may still have vivid memories of an impoverished past when lights were turned on only during festivals. Color and brightness meant happiness. But as Chinese cities become increasingly well lit, that special sense of happiness has become harder and harder to create.
In a world of increased light pollution, Narboni convinced the clients to take the plunge with an understated design that made the most of the dark as well as the light.
With a team of 10 native Chinese designers from Zhongtai Lighting, the Chinese partner on the project, Narboni created a mist of natural-looking blue-and-green lights along the banks. This is in contrast to more extravagant lighting in parts of China such as Guilin in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The ancient architecture is highlighted with minimal white light showing its texture and sculptural details. The eaves are hung with red, Chinese lanterns creating a cozy, salon like ambience outdoors.
The 19 bridges along the 10-kilometer stretch were envisioned as markers to give rhythm to a journey along the canal. At every kilometer there is a post showing the distance to Beijing.
By day each bridge is a chaotic mix of different styles and materials, yet at night they make sense as part of a coherent whole.
Similarly by day the ancient architecture is overshadowed by apartment blocks rising behind them. But by night the modern architecture is only hinted at with a sparse scattering of rectangles set into the blocks.
Using high-efficiency LEDs, the lights also conserve energy using just 3,200 kilowatts an hour for the entire stretch.
Working as an electronic visual artist in the early 1980s, Narboni was ideally placed to lead a budding lighting design industry that started 20 years ago. He was founding member of the French Association for Conceptual Lighting in 1994, and founded the urban lighting design firm Concepto in 1988.
But as a lighting engineer, Narboni is surprisingly concerned with the dark.
"Light is like a drug - the eyes get used to it and want more and more," says Narboni.
He once won a contract to light the Rion Antirion Bridge in Athens, Greece, with a poem celebrating the "darkness of night." Having designed in more than 100 cities in Europe (notably Paris and Lyon), Narboni says surprisingly that "the 'lost night' is a nightmare for me."
As cities became active 24 hours a day, lighting designs became the supreme tool to define the brave new world of the night city.
Hangzhou's Grand Canal lighting project shows that the elusive beauty and wonder of light can be captured again, without sacrificing the night. If you go
Night tourist cruises are available on the Grand Canal for 60 yuan. You can get onboard at Wulinmen Pier, 138 Huancheng Rd N., Xiacheng District.
Bus No. 69, 270, 278, 328, 802, 813, K197, 279, K55, K56, K189, K105, K900, Y5.
Tel: 85153185
In future the lights will only operate on weekends and festivals.
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